BMA to Open Earth as Medium: Extracting Art from Nature

The exhibition features nearly 20 works that look at the use of animals, minerals, and plants in art across centuries, geographies, and cultures

BALTIMORE, MD (March 27, 2025)— On April 6, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) will open a focus exhibition exploring the relationship between artistic production and the natural world. Throughout history and into the present day, natural resources—whether mineral, plant, or animal—have been used to create art. With Earth as Medium: Extracting Art from Nature, the BMA considers the inextricable connections between art and nature and the ways in which artistic practices have been implicated in the exploitation of the earth. It also highlights how artists are, through careful selection of natural materials, providing environmental care in the act of artmaking. The exhibition will remain on view through August 17, 2025, and is presented as part of the BMA’s ongoing Turn Again to the Earth initiative, which explores the relationships between art and the environment across time and geography.

Earth as Medium features 19 objects produced between the 14th and 21st centuries and spanning cultures from across the globe to chart material histories. Mined materials are represented by a Tray (c. 1725-1750) from the Potosí silver mines in present-day Bolivia; Pinnacles, Alabama Hills, Owens Valley, California (1945/1970), a gelatin silver photograph of the location of Kodak’s silver mines by Ansel Adams; and Boy with Curly Hair (1946), a copper plate by Henri Matisse on display for the first time at the BMA. Animal examples include a Tusk Carved in Relief (late 19th century) by a Kongolese Vili group artist showing first-hand experiences of elephant harvesting that is juxtaposed with The Elephant Hunt (1582), an engraving with a dramatized scene of ivory hunting attributed to Adriaen Collaert. Plants and trees as sources are emphasized by a hanging Samoan Tapa Cloth (1930s-1950) crafted from bark and decorated with pigment and a Basket (c. 1993) by Lucille Lossiah (Eastern Band Cherokee) woven from oak twigs and dyed with walnut and bloodroot gathered in the Qualla Boundary, North Carolina.

Throughout the exhibition, particular attention is paid to the ways that natural resources are infused into every part of artmaking. While many of the processes have led to pollution, the destruction or disruption of habitats, and overconsumption, some artists have committed to sustainable production, including previously Baltimore-based artist Linda Bills, whose work Basket (1981), made from naturally felled wood gathered in local Druid Hill Park and from her garden.

“When institutions discuss art, they predominantly focus on the human hand, whether as an exploration of the technical process of making or the vision underlying the work. The origins of materials and the importance of nature to the creative process is often left out of the interpretation,” said Brittany Luberda, BMA Anne Stone Associate Curator of Decorative Arts. “In this exhibition, we ask visitors to look past an artwork’s image back to the earthly beginnings of artmaking. Earth as Medium is an opportunity to reflect on the role that art does and can play within considerations of our impact on and care for the environment.”

The exhibition is co-curated by Brittany Luberda, BMA Anne Stone Associate Curator of Decorative Arts, and Kevin Tervala, BMA Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown Chief Curator.

Turn Again to the Earth

About the Baltimore Museum of Art

Founded in 1914, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) inspires people of all ages and backgrounds through exhibitions, programs, and collections that tell an expansive story of art—challenging long-held narratives and embracing new voices. Our outstanding collection of more than 97,000 objects spans many eras and cultures and includes the world’s largest public holding of works by Henri Matisse; one of the nation’s finest collections of prints, drawings, and photographs; and a rapidly growing number of works by contemporary artists of diverse backgrounds. The museum is also distinguished by a neoclassical building designed by American architect John Russell Pope and two beautifully landscaped gardens featuring an array of modern and contemporary sculpture. The BMA is located three miles north of the Inner Harbor, adjacent to the main campus of Johns Hopkins University, and has a community branch at Lexington Market. General admission is free so that everyone can enjoy the power of art.